Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-24
AUSTIN.
A Visit to the Capital, the Governor.
the Lunatic, the Deaf and Dumb
and the Blind Asylums.
The Twentieth Legislature a Hard Working
and Business Like Body Thor %
S OughIy in Earnest
BoHHAM, TEX, March p, 1887,

BoHRAM TEX, March p, 1887.
To the Editor of the Gazette.
desire through the columns Of your
influential and widely circulated paper 10
bear some testimony in regard to the con-
duct Of some Of our puOlic servants at
Austin, and the management Of the insti-
tuIons under their cOntTCl-fur 1t Is Only
by personal insp= ction that we can arrive
at a lust conclusion SIS to the merits or
dement's Of persons and things. | think
some unjust criticisms have been made
against persons IN official life az Austin,
and charges made which l am sure are
unwarranted. Recently | lad the pleasure
of visiting our beautiful City OF Hills as a
mere "looker-On in Venice" ana think L
an prepared to speak impartiaIIy OF all
that came under my observation. Ausun'
nesting ike q level on the bosom OF the
Colorado, with a semi-circle Of hills ris-
ing in grand perspective, surrounded by
cool groves CT live oaks AND evergreens,
with tae blue SkV bending above and the
lightmfst hanging on the mountain PEAKS,
is picture a. once attractive and tascl-
mating, and fOrcibIy reminds one OF those
beautiful lines from GR he.
Knowest thou the land where the lemon trees
bloom,
Where he gold orange glows in the deep
Whe e a breeze ever soft from the blue heaven
blows,
And the gr0vc3 are Of laurel and myrtle and
rose;
These were at least my thoughts On ar
irving at the capital. My first visit was
to that imposing structure of marble ris-
ing grandly on Capitol hill, which bids
far 10 rival the pyramids of Egypt for
durability, and to vie with any structure
of modern times for beauty and grandeur.
The gloomy pyramids were erected by
the toll of millions to perpetuate the
memory and the folly of kings, but our
capitol will remain a monument to the
civilization, patriotism and wisdom of
our great state, Of which every citizen
should be justly proud, as it is the COM
mon properly i all. My next visit was
to that greet charitable institution, the
lunatiC asylum, erected and maintained by
the bOuntiful INDULGENCE of the state as
q home for those poor unfortunate
creatures bercft of reason, and frequently
left physical as well as mental wrecks, to
float down the great tide of time TO the
ocean Of eterni Y. No one who has not
visited this grand institution can form a
correct idea OF the magnitude Of the same
and the vast responsibility shOuldered in
its management This Institution Is pre-
sided over by Or. j. S. Dorset, late of
BOnham, VINO is ABLY assisted by Dr..
Preston AMI others. DR.. Dorset kindly
volunteered to take me through every
ward, hospital and department, and after
going through the entire tier Of buildings
aud Crilicising and inspecting every part
from cellar to garrett / must confess
I ~ = iTta n a.
most exact order. In the female
wards every floor was washed and
sCrupulOusly clean, the inmates well
fed and clothed, the attendants
polite and kind to the unfortuDates, aud
all that human hands can do to add to
the comfort and assist in the recovery Of
the patients. To Judge of the magnitude
of the institution, | will say that there
are about COO inmates and over 200 guards,
physicians, attendants, servants, etc.
This army has TO be fed three times per
day, clothed, dOCtOred and attended in
various ways, and all of this vast concern
is run on i most economical basis. One
has to inspect and see the mOdus oper-
andi of this institution TO comprehend,
and then be puzz ed to watch the clock
work regularity with which everything is
run. Suffice IL 30 say that people who
have friends there can rest assured that
they have fallen in safe hands. The Su-
perintendent and his noble Christian lady
have, by kindness and untiring attention.
so Won the love of the inmat s
that they have no trouble, except in few
extreme cases, in controlling them, and
many who were closely confined and pro-
nounced dangerous when DR.. Dorsett
took charge, now roam freely through the
grounds harmless as children. Governor
Ross made no mistake when he placed
DR.. DCrsett in charge. He is the right
man in the right place, and in spite of
the ran ON shafts thrown from ambush
by disappointed guerrillas, he will sue
coed in reheC ing credit on the institution
that envy and malice cannot obscure.
What has been sid of this institution is
equally true of the management of the
deaf and dumb and blind asylums.
Before closing this rambling letter |
will say that l found our Legislature
hard WORKING, sensible and business like
body, thoroughly in earnest and faithful
10 every trust. Calling on his Excel
lenCy, | found him too busy st work to
entertain mere visitors, but l had good
view of him-found him six feet high,
handsome, straight as an Indian, patient,
kind, intelligent, honest, as firm as
rock, and when he decides a question
leaves the fixed impression that the mat
ter is closed forever. The "Litle Cav
airy Man" is the Governor, and the great
agricultural people may well be proud of
their chosen chief, and l confidently pre-
dict that when his term expires the uni
yersal verdict of the people will be that
Texas has had no better since the days OF